Fishhook extractor



W. EiQLLANQ FI SHHOOK EXTRACTOR Filed July 5, 1947 Patented Dec. 27,1949 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE FISHHOOK EXTRACTOR Edwin W. Holland,Collins, N. Y.

Application July 5, 1947, Serial No. '159,093Y

4 Claims.

My invention relates to a fish-hook extractor, or more particularly to adevice for removing iish-hooks from sh when the hooks are taken in bythe fish to a considerable depth and are diiiicult to remove by the handonly.

Fishermen often catch iish which are undersize and must be thrown back,also fish which retain a iighting spirit and struggle to free themselveswhile hooked or during the act of removing the fish-hook. My improveddevice is so constructed that it is used both as a club, or what issometimes referred to as a pries for stunning the iish, and as a meansfor disengaging the hook from the fish and protecting the sherman frombeing pricked by the hook, or lacerated as sometimes occurs, during theact of removing the hook from the fish. Such a device also saves iishcaught undersize so that they may be returned to the water in acondition which will enable them to thrive and grow.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a fish-hook extractorwherein improved means is included to direct the ldevice into the fish,using the fish line having-the fish-hook secured thereto as a means ofdirect approach to the hook so that the latter may be freed from thefish without damaging the latter and without unnecessarily laceratingthe flesh or an organ in the region of the iish in which the hook iscaught.

.Another object of my invention is the production of a device in theform of a slender object having means .to co-act with a hook caught in aiish inv a manner to disengage the hook under pressure exertedv inwardlyand which is of suflicient weight so that it may be conveniently used asa-club or priest to stun a i'lsh caught when resisting the iishermansefforts to land the same.

A still further object is to provide a simple and inexpensive flshhcokretriever, as it may also be termed, which has a pusher area adapted toengage or at least co-act with the bight of a fishhook to dislodge thelatter from the esh or other portion of the fish and wherein, adjacentsaid pusher area a guard is provided to protect the point of the hookand to prevent injury to the iisherman when he removes the hook with theextractor or retriever; also crowd the flesh behind the point of thefishhook downwardly so as to aid in withdrawing the hook without undulylacerating the fish and to prevent the hook tak- With the above andother objects in view to l appear hereinafter, my invention consists inthe novel features of construction and in the arrangement andcombination of parts to be hereinafter described and more particularlypointed out in the subjoined claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is -a perspective view of my improved ishhook extractor orretriever.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of that end of the device designed to beentered into a iish.

Fig. .3 is an enlarged cross section taken on lines 33, Fig. 4, lookingin the direction of the arrow crossing said line.

Fig. 4 is a broken sectional elevation of the device shown enl-argedover the scale shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the operating or retrieving end ofthe device, showing the latter inserted into the mouth of a sh caught ona hook and the manner in which the pusher or pusher area of the deviceengages the bight of the hook and the guard protects the point of thelatter.

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the device as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

The device is preferably constructed of Wood of a kind that will providesu'icient weight to enable its use as a club for subduing a iish, or itmay be constructed of aluminum, plastic, or other material suitable forsuch purpose. If desired, the device may be constructed of lighterWeight material and used solely as a iishhook remover, extractor orretriever.

- Regardless of the material from which it is constructed, it comprisesxa slender stick-like element or short rod 1 which is cylindrical fromits inner or handle end 8 toward its outer end 9, which outer end may betermed its acting or operating end, for a distance approximatelytwothirds of its length, from which point it is gradually reduced insize or tapered, as at I0, the outer or operating end cf the stick-likeelement or rod 1 is rounded, as Yat Il, and cut away or notched throughapproximately one-half its diameter, as at I2. The rounded end Il is,therefore, in the form of a quarter sphere since it is rounded in alldirections from the plane of the top or overhanging wall I3 of notch I2and its roundedl 3 surface serves as a pusher terminal or area to beused as hereinafter described.

The cut-away portion or notch I2 is directly beneath said pusher area orprojecting nose as it may be termed, as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5, its topor overhanging Wall I3 serving as the bottom of said projecting nose, orpusher as it may also be termed, and this cut-away portion has its innerend wall I4 inclined outwardly by rounding or concaving the same tomerge at one end into said wall I3 and to terminate at its other end atthe peripheral surface of the rod; thus the nose or pusher issubstantially semi-circular in cross: section-` the point of theflshhook so that the point cannot come in contact with the said endwall, which.

latter may be referred to as an abutting wall or area.

A line groove I5 is formed in thestick--flilre` element or rod from apoint beyond'the taperedportion In to the outer oroperating'endithereoLL the groove being of even depth along the,tapereda portion of the stick-likeeelement or rod and being graduallyreduced in depth from the tapered portion towardtheinnerpr'handle*end'of the body portion soasto. gradually vanish atthe-'surface of the cylindrical" portion because" of'the'angularity ofthe peripheral'surface' of' said' tapered portion to the peripheralsurface'of said' cylindrical portion.

When a shhook caughtir a shisnot'easily removable with the fshermansfingers, and par'- ticularly whenthe hook has been drawn deeply into theflesh or an organ of" the sli 'andthecamecaughtin a,.region.dicult'toreach, the' portion of the stick-like velement or rodT'having theoperating.: or notchedf'endjf 9 is thrust' part way intov thetshandfwh'en doingthis. the sh line, designated I6, to whichrthe 'shhookI'lis attached,.iis .drawn tautand the,stick-like element or-,rod movedfarther.into thelsh .parallel with the sh line while manipulating boththe rod zand- Vthe rline soethat .the :latter will .enter the grooveintherod.

Whenclrawing the sh line Itautftheshank: I8. of thesli'hookwillabecomealined ,with said line and the -roundediarea orpusher', terminal l I of the rod which overhangs.thefnetclrI2L willengage the bight: I lr ofi the-=shhook, as fshown'; in Fig. 5.

With the-partsrzso disposed;. the p oirrtroi. the flshhc'olr will r be;directedi toward .orl against l the inner, curved' end l wallfof.` thecut-away;` portion but will not contact'the samezandafterithus posi-,-tioning the rod', the'flme isf-maintains@ inttazut condition in: thieflgroove' f of f the roda by grasping, both togetherv and alsoagainstithe-outer cylindrical portion of the rod` 'in someinstanceswhereaL deep insertlonof therod is-.required; Alfter vthe parts are` sorelated under manipulation of' thev line and rod; it'is only necessary'`to force'the'rod farther into the lsh', which'.causes'the'curved innerend"wall or'abuttingendoftliehotch to engage the iesh' or organoffthesh-in' rear of tlie point of-'tlieshliooklfand crowdfthe organ or eshdownwardly, thus aidi'ngin preventing'laceration of vthe fishand-permitting easywithdrawal ofthe fishhook from theflesh-orotherportion of the''sli engagedthereby. Af reverse movementofthe rod will then result in botli-tlie rod, line and liool: beingwithdrawn Without-any possibility of the hookagain enterin'ganyAphysical portion of l the sli (because of the `pointrofj; the

The, length of therv notch is, greater than ,the distance'betweenzthebightland 4 hook being guarded, nor is there any possibility of thefisherman becoming injured.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the nose II will serve as ahook-pusher, while the concaved or otherwise rounded or inclined wall I4at the inner end of the notch I2 will serve as an abutting or pusherregion; and under the term esh I include any organ or part of a fish inwhich a shhook can be caught.

It is to be understood that the tapering of the rod is not essential,but the use of the same is believed to have advantages.

It will also be understood that it is a simple matter, after. drawingthefishline taut while holdingtheayhooked flsh,.to'direct thei line intothe groove and the pusher terminal ofthe rod against the bight of theshhook, while the point of the hook is being directed to confront theroundediorf-concaved end wall I4 of the cut-away vportion or notch I2,hereinbefore referred to as it'ssinnerend a'downwardliy' and inwardlydirectedv portion-terminating at"vtlief-periphery'-of thefrod,I saidnose bei-ng--a'daptedto' engage the bight-Tof a nsleh'eokfcaughtin ashand saidnotch being of a* length'- greater than thefdistancevbetweenthe; bight v"and l pointof the shhook and, adapted v.to receiver the'vpointed endf portion .fof .thev shhool: and protect the point thereofwhen'.positioning said projecting nose'againstthefbightiofthe .nshhook:

2i- Af-shhookfextractor; comprisingia' rod having; a' notchatonefendnadapteditoiforrn a; pro.- jecting' nosei` having. ai rounded.yend? conforming substantially tof a portion of the:-v bight of a: shhookandV a atfunderside `leading*inwardly 'from' the -endlioisaidroel-anellihaving ati its l inner' end' an* abuttingE area, saidprojecting nose* being adaptedftolengage'-'tliev bightfof ashliookcaught ina-f1`sh=anclv` saidabutting area being adapted to 1 crowd they-flesh ori' organ around I the pointed errdfofftlie'shhcokdewnwardlyiso' a'sfto aid in withdrawinglsaidpointed i end fromthe flesh for organ-and pre-vent undue laceration of thesh.

35 A' fishliook' extractor; comprising a--rod having-a-noteh at oneendthroughv substantiallyonelial'fi of:4 itsL diameter to provideasubstantially semi-circular'l pusher f terminal overhanging said notch;thef'overh'arrging wall-of-'said"-notch being 'at and# tl'ief cuter2 endoff' said pusher terminal being rounded' outwardly/in' alldirectionsfrom thefplanef ofsaid' overhanging-i wall,` the wall atthe'inner'enfd'iof said notchlbein'gI inc-lined'and servingJ as anrvabutting areaI terminating at -the periphery of said rod', saidrod'having algroove arranged" lengthwise' alngI that side V'of its fouter surface opposite A'said inotch" ytofreceive a sh line andftheshankfoi a slihook'; the'iroundedV end oiifsaidpuslier terminal'being'adapted to' bear against '-theb'igh'tof ay shh'ookfii' ar fishlWith' the:pointedendiportion of 'tliefiislihoolfA positioned insaid'n'otch'; saidabuttin'g-area serving 'to' crowd the flesh or'organpf'the sli aroundf the-point of "said pointed? end i portion1 downwardlyto preventi` lacerating tlie i while withdrawing the shhoolz'`t'l'ie'refcnn.I

4'; Ashhook'extractor, comprising-'a rod havingi'a' notch" at one endthrough'substantially one-lialif`ofit's diameter to `provi'c'leai-substantial- Y Vly semi-circular pusher terminal 'for the rodoverhanglng said notch, the overhanging wall of said notch being flatand the outer end of said pusher terminal being rounded outwardly in alldirections from the plane of said overhanging wall, the inner end wallof said notch being concaved downwardly to serve as an abutting areaterminating at the periphery of said rod, the rounded outer end of saidpusher terminal being adapted to bear against the bight of a iishhookhooked in a iish, and the pointed end portion of the shhook beingpositioned in said notch, said abutting area serving to crowd the flesharound said pointed end portion downward while withdrawing the iish-hookfrom the fish.

EDWIN W. HOLLAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

